Square Enix to Deepen Its Blockchain Efforts in 2023

Square Enix, the Japanese gaming giant, is preparing to announce more blockchain-based titles in 2023. As part of a now traditional new year’s letter issued by Yosuke Matsuda, CEO of the company, the executive announced some of the moves Square Enix will make regarding blockchain tech, and also pondered several situations which surrounded blockchain in 2022.

Blockchain tech is becoming an important part of several entertainment-based companies all over the world. Square Enix, the Japanese gaming company responsible for franchises like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, revealed it has some games using this tech prepared to be announced during 2023.

The statements come from a new year’s letter published by Square Enix’s CEO Yosuke Matsuda, who considers 2022 a year in which blockchain tech acquired a bigger significance. Matsuda explains that last year might have been the year of consolidation for decentralized tech in gaming. He stated:

I think it is fair to say that blockchain gained significant recognition as a field in 2022, as evidenced by ‘Web 3.0’ becoming a firmly established buzzword among businesspeople.

Matsuda recognizes that, while blockchain gaming was indeed at the forefront of the discussion of what makes games fun, most of this discussion was focused more on the monetization side of the tech. This is changing, as Matsuda states that the new vision considers blockchain tech as just “a means to an end.”

Even with all the problems that arose in the crypto and blockchain ecosystems in 2022, the company is pushing its blockchain-related products to the market this year, with Matsuda believing that blockchain gaming will transition to a new stage of growth in 2023. On this, he declared:

Our group has multiple blockchain games based on original IPs under development, some of which we announced last year, and we are undertaking preparations that will enable us to unveil even more titles this year.

However, the executive did not offer more details on the new games that might be using blockchain tech this year. The company did announce the launch of NFT-powered Symbiogenesis, an interactive experience, in November.

The interest of the company in this field was revealed by Matsuda in Nov. 2021, with the company contemplating a “robust entry” into this sector as part of its business strategy. Since then, Matsuda has supported the introduction of Web3 technologies as part of entertainment and gaming on several occasions, even investing in other companies in the Web3 gaming field.

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